Dome goes out with a whimper

There will be no party and no ceremony to mark its passing. Instead the Dome will simply shut its doors for good at 6pm on New Year's Eve.

The end to the attraction's troubled life is a mournful contrast to the lavish gala opening last New Year's Eve when the Queen and Tony Blair led celebrations.

Instead, bosses will allow rave organisers headed by a friend of Peter Mandelson free use of the surrounding buildings for an all-night dance event. The Dome itself will remain empty.

Critics last night demanded to know why the attraction - which swallowed £629million of Lottery money - was not charging the rave organisers to recoup at least a fraction of its losses.

London nightclub the Ministry of Sound hopes to attract 16,000 paying £35-a-head to party for 12 hours in the shadow of the Dome. The club's owner and chairman Jamie Palumbo is a personal friend of Peter Mandelson.

Announcing the plans, the New Millennium Experience Company was keen to present the rave as a fitting end to the attraction. However it soon emerged that the Dome itself will have no closing ceremony.

Last year NMEC began considering plans for a lavish night, but they were quietly shelved earlier this year as visitor numbers failed to take off.

The Ministry of Sound will use buildings, including the Skyscape cinema and pavilions currently used for corporate hospitality and school visits.

NMEC is not charging the rave organisers to use its facilities, although its own costs of

lending staff and equipment will be covered.

The Ministry of Sound insisted it was a 'coincidence' that Mr Palumbo and Peter Mandelson were friends, and said the Dome party was a 'business decision' which would give the company massive global publicity.

'I have no comment to make on James Palumbo's friendship with Peter Mandelson,' a spokesman said. Mark Rodol, Ministry of Sound's director, insisted the party would not be a money-spinner and said none of the club's merchandise would be on sale.

'We hope to break even,' he said. 'We are taking the financial risk rather than NMEC. For us it is a huge profile exercise, on a global scale.'